


Just Another High School Story

by YappiChick



Category: Halo
Genre: Alternate Universe, Cliche, F/M, High School, Teen Angst, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-09-13
Updated: 2013-09-13
Packaged: 2017-12-26 11:42:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/965533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YappiChick/pseuds/YappiChick
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cortana and John in high school. Yes, it's as clichéd as it seems.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Just Another High School Story

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: This fic is cliché-ridden, OOC and written basically for the amusement of whoever bothers to read it. 
> 
> As usual, this is FantasticJackie's fault. XD XD

I shouldn’t even be here, I tell myself as I stand in front of a large building proclaiming “Reach High School” with chipped gold letters. I should be with my mom, Catherine Halsey, traveling around the globe as she does her genius thing, solving humanity’s problems, one issue at a time.

But no, we just had to come back to Reach for a military contract. If it hadn’t been for Lord Hood and his stupid contract, Mom would have never bumped into Jacob Keyes, her old boyfriend, and we would have never stopped living the only life I had ever known.

Miranda, my half-sister, had been with him, shooting nasty looks at Mom. I didn’t mind though, I am pretty sure I was giving the same looks to Jacob.

That was three months ago. 

Last week, the two of them got married.

I told Mom I’m not changing my last name from Halsey. Or calling Jacob, “Dad”.

The only good thing that has come from this is that I have made a friend in Miranda. We both think our parents are acting stupid and being able to vent our frustrations to each other has made a horrible situation slightly bearable.

“Come on, Cortana.” Miranda nudges me in the shoulder. “Time to start your life as a Spartan.”

I resist the urge to roll my eyes as we make our way up to the front office. “Well, at least your school's mascot is something respectable." I let out a long sigh. "Tell me why I’m here again.”

“Because, although you’re academically beyond most college students, we feel it’s best for you socially to have experiences with your peers. Life is more than equations and theories, Cortana.” Her impersonation of Mom is downright scary.

Once we arrive at the office, I get my list of classes -- all AP, of course -- and Miranda is steering me through the halls. We pass by colorful signs, boasting about some event the ASB is holding, and about a million kids who have to stop talking to give a glance to the girl that is with Miranda. (Did I mention that she’s the ASB president for the junior class and one of the most popular kids in the school?)

The attention doesn’t seem to bother her, but I hate it. I’ve been on homestudy since I started school. Mom was my only companion as we hopped from continent to continent, fulfilling whatever obligations she had committed to solving. 

We walk to the end of the hall and she stops at the T-junction. “You ready?”

“What if I say no?”

“You’ll be fine, Cortana.”

“I know. I’ve met some of the most powerful men and women in the world, a few hundred of my peers can’t scare me off that easily.” 

She grins. “I’ll meet you after school.”

The rest of the day goes pretty much as I expected to: boring with a overwhelming sense of lameness. I finish my assignments before everyone else and fight the urge give the teachers some pointers on how to run their class more efficiently.

The kids here do little more than stare at me, before they start to mutter something to their friends. The one boy who bothered talking to me only wanted to know if he could copy my work.

I’m so glad Mom and Jacob decided the best thing to do was throw me into the public education system one year before I am due to graduate.

Really.

I walk into my AP Bio class and look for a desk in the back of class. I recognize a few of the kids from the other classes. 

I find a desk that’s in the middle of the back row and set my backpack on the chair. Not a second later, one of the kids in the front swivel around to face me. “You can’t sit there.”

I arch my eyebrow. “Why not?”

“The captain of the football team normally sits there.” The way she says this makes it seem like it’s important.

I give her a tight-lipped smile. “Not today.” To emphasize my point, I put my backpack on the ground and sit in the chair.

“Whatever.”

Profound argument. The debate team here must be phenomenal.

I know the moment the Mr. Captain of the Football Team walks in. He is tall, muscular and attractive. He's wearing a Varsity jacket , adorned with a Spartan helmet patch. His number, 117, is proudly displayed on his sleeve, by his shoulder. He glances at me in his seat. For a fraction of a moment there is confusion, but he simply takes the chair to the left of me without a single comment. 

Well, hello to you too.

A couple of his friends come in after that. They, like him, look at me sitting in the chair, but say nothing. They fill in the remaining seats in the back. 

Suddenly, I feel more like an outsider than I’ve felt all day. Why hadn’t I just gotten up and moved seats? Mom would say that this action demonstrates an underlying issue of frustration. Gee, you think?

I’m tempted to get up and move to the empty seat in the front, but the teacher walks in and that idea is nixed. I sit through the lecture, doing my best to not look over at Mr. Football to see if he’s giving me the Death Stare.

The forty-five minutes crawl by so slowly that I am sure I am living proof that Einstein’s Theory of Relativity is true. Finally, the teacher wraps up his speech and tells us we can get our stuff ready to leave for the day. I slide my notebook in my backpack and take a deep breath. I may not like being here, but I didn’t come to make enemies either.

I face the guy whose seat I stole. “Look, I just wanted to say I’m sorry for taking your seat.”

He just looks at me for two seconds. I am sure that he and all of his friends can see the blush that is creeping on my face. I should have never said anything. I should have just ignored it and taken a seat in the front tomorrow.

“You’re Miranda’s sister, right?”

Oh no. This isn’t the guy she had been dating, was it? Mutual disdain for our parents or not, if she finds out that I was mean to her boyfriend, she’s going to kick my butt.

“Half-sister,” I correct.

He just gives me a nod and turns back to his friends. Apology accepted, I guess.

Fortunately, I am saved any further embarrassment because the bell rings. I sling my backpack over my shoulder and walk out of the room without a second glance.

Finding Miranda in the sea of kids is about as easy as I thought it’d be. Instead of trying to find the one familiar face in a crowd of impatient teens who just want to get home, I lean against the rail at the bottom of the steps and wait for her to show up.

I’m still trying to figure out how I’m going to apologize to her for being a jerk to her boyfriend when she bounces down the stairs. A young man with cocoa-colored skin and a huge smile has his arm slung around her shoulders.

Maybe I’m not in trouble after all.

It takes me a second to realize that I saw this kid before. He was one of the kids who was sitting with the captain of the football team in Bio class which probably meant that Miranda already knew what happened.

“I heard you’re making friends,” she calls halfway down the stairs.

Yup. Busted.

“Part of my charm,” I retort.

Her friend -- boyfriend?-- laughs. “Well, you certainly surprised the Chief.”

At my confused look, Miranda clarifies, “The captain of the football team.”

“Well, does the Chief have a name?”

“I’m sure he does, but everyone just calls him ‘Chief’.” Miranda shrugs her shoulder. “Oh, this is AJ, by the way.”

“I’ve heard a lot about you.” 

_And I haven’t heard anything about you_ , I’m tempted to say, but for now I bite my tongue. I’ve had enough awkward encounters for the day.

AJ and Miranda start talking about random things and I tune them out. Today has been a perfect example of why I did not want to come to high school. I don’t think like these peers of mine. I just want things to go back to the way they were before.

Before my thinking can get too morose, Miranda says my name to get my attention.

“AJ is going to give me a ride home, k?”

I nod. I don’t mind. Driving home alone means I get to brood a little longer. “Sure.”

I turn to go to the parking lot when AJ calls, “I’ll see you in Bio tomorrow.” When I turn to face him, there is a teasing look in his eyes.

“Don’t worry, I’ll let the Chief have his seat.”

“Where’s the fun in that?”

I feel a strange feeling on my face and realize that I’m smiling. Miranda has a winner with this guy. “I like him already,” I tell Miranda before I spin around.

Part of me is annoyed that AJ has managed to pull me out of my mood a little bit. I was looking forward to a full-fledged pity party. 

I cross the parking lot and see my car. But, I realize that there is someone standing by it.

The Chief.

A wave of nervousness crashes into me. Had I upset him more than he had let on? He hadn’t seemed upset in class, but then again, he hadn’t seemed like an emotional guy. 

I’m considering running back to Miranda and AJ when I stop myself. I will not be intimidated by some dumb high school jock. 

I take a deep breath and walk confidently forward. Might as well get this done and over with.

When I get close enough for him to hear me, I ask, “Was there something you needed?”

“I need your help.”

Almost immediately, I relax. He probably wants me to do his homework or something. This, I can handle.

“Oh really.” 

I am doing my best to ignore the fact the this guy is a lot more cute than I first noticed. My mom would say that this is healthy behavior for a person my age.

I mentally tell my inner Mom to shut up. 

“Yes.” He nods. 

I open my trunk, mostly to distract myself from the intense look he’s giving me. “I don’t even know your name,” I say.

“Chief.” 

Well, so much for finding out his real name. I toss my backpack inside and shut the trunk. “Cortana.”

There’s a glint of something in his eye. Like some kind of inside joke that I don’t know about. “I know.”

He didn’t elaborate and I am starting to feel flustered like I did in class. I look at him in the eye, ready to demand that he tells me why he is here, but my rant is cut short.

Have I ever seen anyone with such amazingly blue eyes?

I am so going to have a long talk with myself about thinking like a stereotypical teen when I get home. For now, I do my best to ignore his admittedly good looks and ask, “What do you need help with? Math? Science?”

His eyebrows push together and I think how he even looks cute when he’s confused. He speaks up before I can make an idiot out of myself. “No, nothing like that. I need your help to defeat the Covenant.”

Now it's my turn to be confused. “The what?”

He looks at me like he can’t believe I don’t know what I’m talking about. “Our school’s rivals. The Covenant.” He shakes his head. "You've never heard of High Charity High School?"

Of course. Everything revolves around the rival school when it comes to the life of a high school football player. I want to roll my eyes at the mundaneness of it all, but there’s the look in his eyes that is doing weird things to my stomach. 

My logic is screaming for me to walk away and not get involved with such an inconsequential issue, but there’s that half-hopeful smile on his face and I know that I’m not walking away.

“Alright, Chief, what do you need me to do?”


End file.
